


stand by me

by XOLove47



Series: Codas, Missing Moments & Theories [13]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 7x09 spoilers, Conversations, F/M, Season 7 Spoilers, Second first kiss, post 7x09, spec fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25597831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XOLove47/pseuds/XOLove47
Summary: Daisy been on her own for a while. But in the aftermath of the time loops, she and Daniel continue to grow closer and Daisy realizes she doesn't have to shoudler her burdens alone anymore.[Spoilers for 7x09/7x10]
Relationships: Jiaying & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Series: Codas, Missing Moments & Theories [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/556943
Comments: 16
Kudos: 114





	stand by me

Lying in her bunk, Daisy’s head was swimming with everything she had learned during the time loops. Suddenly, she had all these memories that nobody, besides Coulson, had. 

She had witnessed her friends die. She herself had died countless times. Jemma’s scream when they had removed the implant still echoed in her head. And of course, there was Enoch’s warning that this would be the team’s final mission together. 

But oddly enough, none of that was what was keeping her awake right now. When she closed her eyes, all she saw was her kiss with Daniel playing on an endless loop.

It  _ was _ a nice kiss. And taking a loop had shed some much needed light on Sousa’s motivations. She was so used to people having ulterior motives that the fact that he was a just good guy who genuinely cared about her kind of blew her mind. 

The question now was what the hell should she do about it? Because the universe had a sick sense of humor, Daniel had no recollection of their conversation -- or their kiss, for that matter. So it was up to her to make the next move.

Groaning into her pillow, Daisy flipped over on her side.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

* * *

Because things weren't complicated enough, now her mother was on the base and Daisy had to protect her to ensure her own existence. All without revealing too much about the future or who she really was. 

But when Jiaying revealed that the powerful Inhuman that was helping Nathaniel was her daughter she had reached her breaking point. Finding out that she had a half-sister she had never known about was too much. 

And so, she had retreated to the training room to take out some of her aggression on a punching bag before they had to leave for Afterlife.

Daniel leaned against the doorway, “There you are. I was wondering where you ran off to.”

“Well, congrats. You found me.”

He frowned at her retort, “How are you holding up?”

“Fine,” she said, punctuating her statement with another volley of punches. 

“Really? That punching bag might disagree with you.”

Grabbing the bag to stop its momentum, she admitted, “Okay, I might be reeling just a bit.”

“That’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot lately.”

Unwrapping her hands, Daisy slank down to the floor, “I can handle it.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Sousa said, as he sat down next to her. “But you don’t have to handle it alone.”

“Thanks,” Daisy smiled. “You know what’s funny about this? Growing up at the orphanage, all I ever wanted was to find my real family. I used to daydream about having a brother or sister out there somewhere. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.”

“Orphanage?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know my tragic backstory,” Daisy said matter-of-factly. “The short version is I was separated from my parents as a baby after my village was attacked by Hydra. SHIELD agents found me and placed me in an orphanage. Never was adopted-- though I found out later, that was by design. My search for my parents was what led me to SHIELD.”

“Wow,” Daniel said, letting out a low whistle.

“I’m not done. When I finally met my dad, he was an unhinged monster. Then I got my powers, and met my mom-- Jiaying. She helped show me how to control powers and I thought for a minute, that maybe I had finally found what I was looking for. But that all went to hell when she went after SHIELD and tried to kill me. My dad ended up killing her to save me. Oh, and then we wiped his memory and set him up with a whole new identity. He’s working as a vet in the Midwest.”

Daniel looked gobsmacked, “Oh.”

“Finally, something fazes you. I should have known it’d be my twisted family tree.” 

“Daisy, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I mean I knew she was your mom, but didn’t know the full story there,” Daniel said, recovering his wits. He reached over and covered her hand with his, “And now you might have to fight your sister-- your own family, again.”

Daisy shook her head, “I might share blood with them, but they aren’t my family. This team is.”

After a beat, Daniel nodded, “So, is there anything I can do?”

“Just knowing you have my back is enough.”

“Always,” he said, with a soft smile.

The pair locked eyes and Daniel held her gaze. The warmth and sincerity that he radiated was almost enough to make her lean in and kiss him again, but something held her back.

Looking down at her feet, Daisy said, “We should probably get back. The rest of the team is going to be wondering where we are.”

Daniel clambered to his feet first and extended his hand down to Daisy. Taking it, electricity crackled between them as he helped pull her up. 

* * *

“Agent Johnson?” 

Daisy looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway.

She had successfully avoided any one-on-one interactions with Jiaying up until now, but now she was cornered. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to use this time to get to know this version of her mother, before she was hardened by Whitehall-- just the opposite in fact. But she was afraid of slipping up and saying something that would mess up the timeline even further, erasing her from history.

“Just Daisy's fine,” Daisy said, biting her lip. “What can I do for you?”

“Can you tell me about what Nathaniel Malick did to you?” Jiaying asked hesitantly. “I asked the other agents, but they seemed reluctant to share any details. I understand that it might be difficult to talk about, but that information is vital to our community.”

Daisy grimaced, but recounted her story anyway.

Jiaying looked stricken, “The fact that outsiders can replicate our powers by taking tissue samples and bodily fluids poses a great threat to our kind. Yet another reason why Nathaniel Malick must be stopped, before this knowledge is widely shared.”

“No argument here. Malick will get what is coming to him, I’ll make sure of that.”

Jiaying looked at her pensievely, “You know, there’s something familiar about your gift.”

“Well, you’ve seen Malick using it before,” Daisy said bitterly. “The fact that he has my powers really bugs me, by the way.”

Jiaying shook her head, “No, that’s not what I meant. There’s a similar undercurrent of energy in your gift as my daughter Kora’s. It’s something typically seen in families.”

Daisy gulped. Jiaying was edging too close to the truth. 

“Huh, weird. My family is all accounted for though,” Daisy deflected. 

“Maybe we share a common ancestor. If only I had access to our records, I could know for sure.”

Daisy shrugged noncommittally, “Maybe that’s it.”

“I’m glad we were finally able to speak alone. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity, but that other agent always seemed to be nearby. Your boyfriend, I presume?”

“No, no. Definitely not my boyfriend,” Daisy corrected automatically.

“Oh, my mistake. With the magnetic pull between you, I just assumed. It’s like gravity. You move, he moves. And the way he looks at you, when he thinks nobody is watching…”

There was something almost normal about talking about boys with her mom. She felt a pang of regret of what might have been in another universe. 

“He does? Really?” Daisy squeaked out.

It was easy to discount what had happened in the loop in her head, but hearing it from an outside observer was another thing entirely. 

“Really,” Jiaying confirmed. “Anyway, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were working on.”

* * *

With Afterlife reclaimed and Nathaniel defeated, the Chronicoms retreated. They had won the battle, but a much larger one loomed on the horizon.

But, they’d take the win for now. 

Back on the Zephyr in anticipation of another jump, Daisy was in the galley making a cup of tea.

Feeling someone’s eyes on her, she spun around, not surprised to see Daniel standing there. 

Joining her at the counter, he said, “You were impressive out there. It was something else watching you fight other people with powers.”

Flashing back to their conversation during the loop-- the one Daniel didn’t remember, she blushed, “Thanks. You were too.”

“So how’d things go with your mom?”

“Pretty good, actually. I got some closure and managed to protect my existence, so that’s a win in my book.”

“In mine too. I’m not sure what I’d do if you didn’t exist,” Daniel admitted. 

“Yeah?”

She had never met someone as open and honest as him. It drew her in, like a magnet.

With Jiaying’s words ringing in her ears, Daisy closed the short distance between them and pressed a kiss to Daniel’s lips. 

His hand settled just below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek, like he couldn’t believe this was really happening. She ran her fingers down his back, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them. 

“That was amazing,” Daniel commented when they finally broke apart. “And the first of many, I hope.”

“It was,” Daisy agreed. But she couldn’t resist correcting him, “But, technically, that wasn’t our first kiss.”

Daniel furrowed his brow, “Wait what? I’d think I’d remember if we’d kissed before.”

“I kissed you during one of the loops,” Daisy smiled. “It was nice.”

“It doesn’t count if we both don’t remember it.  _ This _ was our first kiss.”

“Whatever you say,” Daisy laughed, pulling him in for another kiss to quiet any additional protestations he might have. 

Daisy felt lighter than she had in ages. She had forgotten what it was like to have someone by her side, to help shoulder her burdens. She could get used to it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Another episode related fic I'm getting posted just under the wire before canon blows everthing up :) Hope you enjoyed and as always, you can find me @accio-the-force on tumblr.


End file.
